Down North

The Bumptet, EGG

Down North

Down North masterfully mixes underground rock and party-fueling soul, regularly lifting up audiences that have been craving new soul sounds from the city that gave the world Wheedle's Groove and Jimi Hendrix.

Down North's upcoming new line-up debut will still feature the bold and sensual talents of lead vocalist/dancer Anthony "RenaGade" Briscoe, whose North Carolina-bred approach to making fans swoon has no equal in the Pacific NW. Raised on Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke, Anthony is as stylish and emotional as Prince in his vocal expressions. Co-leader Brandon Storms is an extremely versatile bassist-guitarist who writes much of the music and taps into his love for everything from Hendrix to James Jamerson in making tunes both infectious and substantial.

The recent additions of Drum Off! award-winning and crowd-amping player Conrad Real (drummer for Ayron Jones and The Way and Society's Child as well) and the psychedelic-jazz trills of guitarist Nick Quiller make the band an unusual and extremely welcome addition to the regional music scene. Depending on whim (and the size of the stage!), Down North expands to a seven piece, integrating horns and other players to help deliver their dazzling grooves.

They'll probably also transcend to higher level of acclaim very soon; early single "Danger" was played on MTV's The Real World even before this killer line-up was settled on. Newer meatier cuts like "So What," "Your World," "Running," and "Heartbreaker/Revolution" (which features the Black Rock psyche-outs of guest legendary axeman Jabrille) reveal the band moving in even edgier, sweatier musical realms.

"We want to be an opening beacon for this scene that's happening now and not getting enough notice," Anthony says. He loves to hang out all over Seattle, but the other night was blown away when he met two gals on Cap Hill "who had lived all their lives here and never heard of Marmalade." He wants to open up the party to rock fans "who want to dance again!" and to those who have been craving fresh, warm, loving soul in the midst of a chilly indie scene. "The people that play in this band are excellent at what they do and we're all here to play
music for people who want to move and connect."

Down North is part of the zeitgeist not only of bands mining a deeper, better played history, but also one that taps into the 90s music scene when anything was possible. "I grew up pretty sheltered," Brandon admits, growing up in a small Washington town near the Canadian border, "and had my life turned around by feasting on albums like 'Check Your Head' — the fusion of all those beautiful sounds going on
at that time." Serious about his playing (like Anthony, they were raised in the church and really learned how to practice and perform music), he moved to Seattle, and enrolled in the Shoreline recording program. He joined some musicians which became the formative version Down North, and their first gig was opening for Alien Crime Syndicate before a crowd of 500 people. "I was playing in a soul band before I even listened to soul!" he says (and has truly grown into the role).

Like many bands these days, the two met on Craigslist — Anthony finally finding collaborators who wanted to make the good time, high quality sounds he loves to listen to and make, and Brandon eager to add him to Down North's line up. "I want to have a body of work," Brandon says about their recent playing in the studio, "We're going to focus on short releases (EPs) of great songs; I want to release as much as I can but it has to be high quality material."

–Chris Estey

The Bumptet

The Bumptet brings reckless sophistication to each performance with an improvisational, genre-bending approach to music. Their compositions range in style and complexity, moving from deep funk grooves to epic rock crescendos to intricate, fusion-esque lines and back again–with improvisation, forward motion, and an in-the-moment attitude as the only constants.
The members of the band have an extremely long collective resume. Guitarist Sean Lehe spent four years touring with the popular jam-groove band Izabella, as well as travelling with the Bay Area bluegrass band Poor Man’s Whiskey. Bassist Jonathan Stoyanoff spent time on the road with Johnny A, and later played over 600 shows from coast to coast with Global Funk Council. The band also includes Sam Phelps on keys (also formerly of Izabella), and newest member Barry Eldridge on drums (Foothill Jazz Collective, Motoshi Kosako Trio).
Self-described as The Headhunters meets Phish, this Northern California quartet takes listeners on a spirited journey that must be seen live in order to fully appreciate the level of musicianship and soul they bring to every show they play. But don’t expect to hear carbon copy renditions of their tunes on stage. They pride themselves on delivering high energy, improvised sets of funk music with jazz caliber execution (including the occasional foray into the jam band outer stratosphere!).